So what do theists do? They try to discredit atheists saying that we’re angry at god. A very pretentious statement, in my opinion, as if we were acting out on some secret resentment at god for something we expected of this god, and said god didn’t deliver…? or even worse, as if we were secretly believing in a god, their god – and feeling ashamed for it…? That makes no sense.

You see, I am not angry at god; seriously, no. Actually, I’m not, in general, angry at all. But in all honesty, most of us atheists are angry.

No, don’t get me wrong, we are not angry at something that we don’t think exists, that’s impossible, but we are angry – and rightfully so. If you are not angry, you’re probably not paying attention.

We are angry at religion and its justified millenary abuses, its wars, its crusades, its rapists and child molesters, its circumcisions, its motivation for blowing up people, its burkas; We are angry at ridiculous rulings like the Blue law, at belief and the way it is put on a pedestal, as if it were synonym of goodness, when it’s precisely the opposite.

We do get angry when religious books are considered as factual and historic, and when the idiocy of Creationism is being taught in schools as science.

We are angry about believers not only condoning but also spreading hatred in the name of their god and their religion. We get angry when theists spout threats of hell, not because we think we’re going to end up in hell, which to us is just an imaginary place, but because they disseminate eternal torture and punishment as a way to coerce and manipulate gullible people.

We do get angry when believers treat us atheists, as if we were lacking something, something must be wrong with us, as though religion and belief were desirable things that we should have by default, and if not, we should strive for.

When people are banned from working at some institution, or lose their jobs because of their lack of faith, or when someone is frowned upon because they’re wearing an atheistic T-shirt, or any kind of discrimination is applied because someone don’t live under the assumption that there’s an invisible sky monkey watching our every move, we get angry.

Right, so much praise and enabling for totally unbelievable constructs that don’t meet any standard of reality whatsoever, while putting aside things that should be mandatory and above any other requirement, such as respect for life, respect for human nature, for our right to think differently, for our planet; sadly, this is a way of thinking that can only be attained by educating yourself, something that you can hardly expect from most believers who think they have the ultimate moral guidance (taken from their religious books), and think all the answers they need are contained in the inerrant word of god, therefore, they won’t even listen.

Yeah, we do sometimes, get angry at believers’ arrogance and willful ignorance.

18 Responses to Tweet of the day – angry atheists.

Very good, invigorating stuff. Gets a bit dodgy in the last paragraph though: education does not lead inevitably to ‘respect for life, respect for human nature, for our right to think differently, for our planet’. The only thing that necessarily inculcates those things is indoctrinating someone in an ideology of which they are tenets, which is one reason many theists are thrown into moral panic at the thought of atheism. What you espouse in your final paragraph sounds like faith or belief in education! The uncomfortable truth is that nothing is inherently right or wrong, and the only reasons to be ‘good’ are self-interest (especially in the case of environmental concerns) and compassion, a trait which has evolved for some reason presumably related to our social nature.
And Kriss… nice abs, but mine are better. You’ll have to take that on faith.

Oli,
Morality is generally a matter of kindness, respect, and reason. I think most people can apprehend that to some workable degree.
Monicks,
Intelligent Design proponents and other apologists will use intellectual dishonesty, not to convince skeptics but to assuage believers’ nascent doubts; to make them feel safe.
There are believers who are troubled by some of the theology difficulties you mentioned. Some of them experience a visceral reaction when hearing terms such as “invisible sky monkey” and they stop listening.
While I understand scornful remarks, I don’t think they are persuasive.My religion is to do good — ThosPaine

Surely we’re not angry at belief? I believe there are no gods. I believe science provides answers to questions of the universe. I believe our moral sense of justice comes from our evolved humanity.Religious belief, now that’s a different mater.

Well, Oli, I never said that education inevitably leads to one conclusion or another. I do have faith in education, not religious faith though, but I do think that education is the best tool we can count on to awaken people’s minds to a better understanding of the world and its mysteries.

Every time a mystery is no longer mysterious thanks to science and technology, and their new discoveries, the god myth loses points.

On the other hand, morality is the result of our evolutionary process, where reflective men and women reached rough agreement concerning values such as integrity, trustworthiness, benevolence and fairness, qualities that are celebrated by almost every human association because human beings cannot thrive in communities where these values are ignored, regardless of their being taught about any god.

You are not the only ones angry. There are theists commonly
called Pagans who are just as ticked off as you are at main stream religions.
Why? If you and I went up to a Christian or Moslem and announced I am a Witch
and you said I am an Atheist who do you think will be attacked first? The Witch
because I am their anti thesis where you are just an unbeliever who might still
be converted; after all you are just mad at god K. I am a Witch. I
regularly visit Atheist web sites and really enjoy what I read. As I see it the
only difference between most Pagans and Atheists is the belief in the higher
power which you can tone down. We both believe in nature, we simply personify
nature and call it by various names; look at it this way we use a little
imagination and give things a name. After all you can call your dog, dog or you
can call it spot, tinker bell or rattus caninus (rat dog) it is still a dog.
Most Pagans love and respect nature as well as Science along with logic and so
do Atheists at least according to most Atheist web sites. Our gods are not
watching your every move; example Thor the God of Thunder is NOT hiding in some
cumulus cloud ready to throw lightening bolts at Atheists or any one else for
that matter although I wish he would target religious radicals as well as far
right politicians Lol. We don’t go around thumping bibles or qur’ans either
since we don’t have one. I like and respect the Atheist point of view so this
Witch will continue to visit your sites; if you don’t like it send the Devil
after me, oops you don’t believe in the devil either.

Perhaps it would be more exact to say most atheists shy away – I’m being polite – from supernaturalism in any form. So no Thor, no God, no Allah for us. We are not just mad at god K. We resent the way religion invades the public sphere as well as the way it ruins people’s minds. And that’s for starters. And you’re not really the antithesis of monotheists, as you’re all theists. But I catch your drift.

You can’t really “tone down” the belief in a higher power, though; it’s a dividing line. We don’t believe in one.

Are you angry at theists just for being theists? What if a theist doesn’t do all the naughty things you mention above? If you are, I don’t think you should be. What have they done to you? You can repeat the old W.K. Clifford evidentialst line, but, arguably, theism isn’t redicluous to the extent that mere belief in it is a crime against civilization. It’s merely controversial. Neither side has any knock-down arguments that clinch it, or even establish a probability of God’s existence. The atheists’ arguments aren’t any better than the theists’. Don’t let atheistic biases and zeal influence you regarding the plausibility of the case for atheism; we get enough of that from theists already.
If you’re not, the hate spills over onto these nicer theists too.

I am an atheist. I am angry at mainstream religions and the people who hold the double-standard of assailing atheism while holding their religion above reproach. I agree that its incorrect to consider religious faith to be synonymous with goodness.

I’d celebrate the day religion died though I still support a person’s right to believe what they will.

The common error of theists is they think “beliefs” equate with facts. Beliefs and faith both mean, “Accepting as true that for which there is no supporting evidence or even much evidence against it.” To do that is irrational. Generally, atheists do not have beliefs, we have knowledge supported by independently verifiable facts. That’s a long way from beliefs.

♣ About me

I am Monica Salcedo McGee, known for being a fiercely outspoken atheist, on this site, and on Twitter and Google Plus. I am a humanist, a freethinker, a rationalist, and an egalitarian. I am married to Joshua McGee (@McGeekiest). I also occasionally write over at gawd.me.

♣ I am…

I am a secular humanist. I rely on reason to understand the world, and compassion guides my effort to apply my knowledge ethically. I behave decently to everyone without any expectation of rewards or punishment after I'm dead.